| dc.description.abstract | This study examined the disciplinary procedures in place in the Kenya civil
service. Of particular concern was to find out the perception of the employees
towards the existing disciplinary procedures in the Kenya civil service.
Over the years, it has been noted that despite the procedures being in place,
low standard of employee discipline has persisted in the Kenya civil service
resulting in poor service delivery and loss of confidence in it by the citizenry.
The study was therefore, an attempt to determine the employees' perception
regarding the challenges faced in enforcing employee discipline in the civil
service and measures that would be useful for improvement.
The study had the objective of determining the perception of civil servants
towards the disciplinary procedures and to find out the best strategies for
improvement of the disciplinary mechanism in the Kenya civil service.
The study was carried out in three ministries which were composed of various departments and targeted 114 employees as respondents and 12 key
informants. The latter comprised heads of discipline sections and some heads
of departments. The methodology employed in this study was stratified
random sampling in which the population was drawn from various
departments. In each category, a sample was drawn by random sampling
method so that all individuals in the target population had equal probability of
being sampled to eliminate bias.
The results of this study indicate that most civil servants are not adequately
aware of the procedures and view it negatively as only aimed at punishment.
This is mainly brought about by lack of sensitization on rules and regulations
and the poor way in which disciplinary cases are generally handled. The result
is that the mechanism is viewed as encouraging corruption, vindictiveness and
used by supervisors to settle personal scores. It is viewed as lacking in
consistence, and when offenders are not disciplined, the disciplined staff feel
demoralized and disenchanted. They regard the non performers as
'passengers' and it is them who carry the burden. This contributes to
indifference and laxity even among the otherwise disciplined personnel. The
process also appears bureaucratic and cumbersome to the majority civil
servants who do not understand them, a fact that just promotes the negative
image. The process is perceived to be too long and rigid leading to
unnecessary delays which encourage corruption and other forms of bias and
interference.
The majority of the respondents viewed the procedures as playing a crucial
role in maintenance of order and enhanceme'1l.g! service delivery but they
need periodic review to be in keeping with the changing times which are
dynamic. Other recommendations include the need to adopt new ideas
including information technology for fast and efficient flow of information.
This is in line with ACAS(2004) recommendation that discipline cases should
be concluded fast. Indeed, justice delayed is justice denied and the large
amount of time expended on discipline cases affect other resources such as
finance, time and personnel.
Many recommended the human resource management approach which is
more proactive, participatory and flexible as compared to the personnel
management style in use, which is seen as rigid and reactive. The former
approach would encourage participatory management, two way
communication, good motivation through better remuneration, work
environment and upward mobility and, recognition for good performance
through issue of rewards. The study findings have revealed that employees
regard proper motivation as playing a very important role in promoting good
performance and attainment of employee discipline in the Kenya civil service
since employees would be encouraged to feel recognized as part of the
system. This would also discourage indifference, laxity and even corruption.
Another major recommendation was that the human resource management
units should be strengthened with adequate and skilled personnel of high
integrity, and they be well facilitated with stationery and equipment. It was
further recommended that, to reduce the workload at ministries'
headquarters, the disciplinary process be decentralized to department and
district levels for quick disposal and only appeals be handled at headquarters.
In conclusion, the study findings indicate that most employees regarded the
disciplinary procedures as crucial for operations of the Kenya Civil Service but
had also many inherent shortcomings that needed to be addressed for the
intended objectives to be achieved. The findings further indicate that there is
need for the disciplinary mechanism in the Kenya Civil Service to be reviewed
every two years to be in keeping with the changing times both nationally and
internationally. Civil servants or their representatives, as major stakeholders
should be involved in the review process. Finally, the disciplinary mechanism
should be results oriented rather than have emphasis on process as is
currently the case.
It was widely recommended that all civil servants be adequately sensitized
regarding the disciplinary mechanism, other human resource management
issues and, integrity. This would encourage consistency in handling of cases
and reduce bias as recommended in the 'hot stove rule'. Motivation and
fairness play very important roles in employee discipline and poorly handled
discipline adversely affect employee performance and, this in turn Similarly
affects organization productivity. | en |
